BROCKTON - Police have placed a mobile observation tower at the top of Legion Parkway in the center of the city.

The tower, which is on loan to the department from the MBTA Transit Police, was installed Thursday and is meant to "give some visibility" to the Legion Parkway area, Brockton Police Lt. Kenneth LeGrice said.

The tower has cameras mounted on each side and will be intermittently manned by a Brockton Police officer.

"We’re tying it out to see what the benefits are," LeGrice said. "This is going to allow us to monitor what’s going on on Legion Parkway."

The presence of the tower is expected to be a crime deterrent in an area that at times can be a hotbed for criminal activity.

LeGrice said there is no current plan for how long the tower will remain up for.